Nintendo Will Not Hold An E3 Press Conference, But Will Show Off Games

Just like last year, Nintendo are foregoing holding a traditional E3 press conference once again in 2014. Instead, they’ll be holding a number of smaller events, both at the E3 venue and at Best Buy events stores in the U.S.

Instead of an E3 press conference, Nintendo will host the “Nintendo Digital Event,” which they say will build upon their approach from last year, where they conveyed information about their upcoming games via a Nintendo Direct presentation. This year’s event will be a “new kind of video program” that will highlight games coming to Nintendo systems in 2014 and beyond. It will take place at 9 am on June 10th.

The second event is “Nintendo Treehouse: Live @ E3”. This event will feature Nintendo of America’s Product Development department (also responsible for localization of the company’s games) providing a look at games and demos from Nintendo’s E3 booth. This show will be live-streamed during all hours of the E3 show, and can be watched online.

Finally, a tournament featuring Super Smash Bros. For Wii U will be held at Best Buy stores across the U.S.

…come again? Sorry I couldn’t pay attention to those announcements because that video was too great. Smash tournaments?! What?!?!

nonscpo

The smash tournament/Best buy is a great idea, however no E3? Bad move Nintendo that doesn’t encourage people to pick up a Wii U.

MasterScrub

What difference does it make? Nintendo is still announcing games around the timeframe of E3, and they’ll get even MORE attention from having random people at Best Buy see their games in action.

XYZ_JolteonZ980

I dont think the best buy bit is necessarily true, I mean Best Buys already have Wii U kiosks as they have had for months now, so putting smash bros there is really just doing the same thing as usual. Randoms that go to Best Buys have already and most certainly encountered Wii U’s for months now especially during the holiday season.

http://twitter.com/puchixseda puchinri

Except having giant groups of people immersed in your console certainly pulls attention versus it sitting there, maybe with one or two surrounding it at any given time.

When they had WW and MK8 at Best Buy last time, it drew huge crowds of gamers and random people. It’s a brilliant idea; I just think they should do something to also advertise to “the casuals.”

http://gentlerobot.com/ Gentle Robot

Last year it sounded promising, then the supported BBY locations dropped by half.

pokeroi

What do you mean by no E3? The whole article is about what’s their plan for E3…

nonscpo

I mean no grand show at E3, most of us wont be walking around at E3 to see the show. So if they don’t have a major event to be streamed then for a lot of people its as if though they weren’t there. Also I am aware that they are going to stream something at the demo booth, but that’s still not the same as being on the main stage.

Guest

What’s the point of a grand show if you are not going to be there?

It’s the same but with more time for games, announcements, details, surprises, etc. and less chance of awkward silence, prerecorded applause, and pulling a Konami 2010.

http://LevelUpGeneration.blogspot.com/ KALiverin

No E3? Did you read the article? They’re still going to be there. They just aren’t going to hold a large scale conference and instead are going to focus on Nintendo Direct, just like they did last year. The information is being delivered the same way regardless. All it really does is annoy the press.

nonscpo

Exactly no large scale conference, most of us wont be able to walk around the demo booth. That’s why the Best Buy idea is a good idea.

http://twitter.com/puchixseda puchinri

I thought they had booths at E3 and Best Buy last year? So if they have booths at both, won’t people still be able to watch others play stuff?

And really, the people that watched their conferences were already aboard the ND train and everyone else just never cared so it’s not a loss for Ninty.

ShawnOtakuSomething

Nintendo Treehouse: Live @ E3”

nonscpo

True but its not the same as being on the Main stage, It implies that they have nothing new to show other than what’s already been announced.

ShawnOtakuSomething

Nin Treehouse they handles localization which means some games will be announced and shown there

nonscpo

If those localization titles are some nice niche games we wouldn’t get otherwise I’ll be happy, however folks like you and me are the minority they need to broadened there message if they are to move more Wii U’s; which seems highly unlikely so far.

ShawnOtakuSomething

I have a feeling they have something up there sleeves

pokeroi

Why not having a main stage means they have nothing new to show…? Nintendo were announcing everything new through video streaming for 2 years.

nonscpo

I don’t care how they show it, which by the way I agree that streaming it looks better, what matters is the general consensus. The Wii U cannot survive on just the Nintendo-fans it needs diversity and that means a mass appeal; which its probably too late for.

THIS is what ruined them last year: People going around saying they weren’t at E3 even though that is not at all what this is.
Instead of paying to rent out a massive conference hall, they are making a small video for a fraction of the costs that will serve the exact same purpose. Games will still be at E3, and what’s more they will have content in retail stores where it can reach out to even more people than an E3 conference ever would.

nonscpo

What games the ones we know of already or the ones we don’t Know of? If there not willing to spend the extra cash that means that there is no titles that there going to announce. Do you really think If Nintendo didn’t have an HD Zelda to show of at E3 that they wouldn’t make a big deal out of it?

ronin4life

This *is* their big deal. This is how they have been doing this since last January. Bayonetta 2 was announced this way. Smash was unveiled this way.

The only difference is cutting out the outdated middleman that is E3, which is little more than Media Fanservice.

And once again, this assumption that “this is proof they have nothing to show” has been hurting them since last E3. Just another baseless assumption.

Kaetsu

The funny thing is that last year Nintendo had the largest booth at E3.

Hopefully their stream is better this time, it was super laggy last year.

pokeroi

I’m gladly surprised that the last ND (the smash one) was streamed by Youtube Live. Youtube is certainly more capable than UStream, which is garbage to stream ND every time.

pimpalicious

I missed that one live so I didn’t see it. Heard the news after though.

KoRLumen

Yeah, The YouTube stream was perfectly fine for me, even at 1080p. The one thing that worries me is the difference between the audience for that Smash Direct and the audience for an E3 presentation, but I don’t know the limits of YouTube either, so… Here’s hoping things go well. Heaven knows Nintendo could use a little positivity nowadays.

Eder García

they are streaming their directs on YouTube and they have a Twitch channel now… so it will be OK

pokeroi

Nintendo, the one who always think the unimaginable, and bold enough to do it. I like that.

PreyMantis

I think it’s also to save them the embarrassment when things don’t work out well, surprising game reveals leaked, spend more money on the conference than they should, and cut all those boring PR talk no one wants just to extend time.

$51888021

Huh, I suppose it is like them to try to break off and just do their own thing again. Feels like a very “Nintendo” thing to do, and it certainly can work for them. The question of the day, of course, is whether or not they’re actually in a position to make it work. If anything, I’ll be excited for new 3DS game announcements~!

Using Mega64 for the announcement was GENIUS, by the way!

ShawnOtakuSomething

Mecha Reggie Fils-Aime …wait Mega 64 just hinted a secret character and his finale smash *body is ready eye laser!* for smash, too bad you can only play him for 2 hrs.

Kenny Loh

Nintendo, you guys make him not happy again

Godman

Pretty sure he’s happy to have a competent competitor at E3

ネオフォトン ~ Neo

Would be nice for Smash Bros. to be at a Best Buy close to me, though doubtful. :D

http://meikiyou.deviantart.com meikiyou

The tournament won’t be on best buy.

otakumike

The press ain’t gonna like this.

http://LevelUpGeneration.blogspot.com/ KALiverin

They already hate Nintendo as it is, so there’s no reason for them to pander to them like everybody else does.

GameTaco

Aye, the GameTrailers E3 show is pretty much going to be a drinking game of taking a shot every time Geoff Keighley or Michael Pachter take a shot at Nintendo or the Wii U.

If, by the end of the day, the bottle is still full, just drink it all anyway because that means they’ve moved to pretending it doesn’t exist.

ronin4life

The press already likes to screw with them. Probably why they would rather throw their own event and have it partially direct in stores than hold a media circus for the media exclusively to be broadcast only to a select audience that has proven they don’t care for Nintendo either.

otakumike

Not like they don’t deserve it most of the time. Let’s face it, Nintendo could have handled the WiiU MUCH better.

ronin4life

They have been screwing with them since GC, and throughout Wii despite its success. WiiU was just another victim.

otakumike

oh christ.

ronin4life

lol.
Seriously though. Just look through the comments, stories and editorials these last 10 years. Look at Pachter, and the mouthpiece he gets. Go to Nintendo Life and you will see a lot of negativity going back years. GameInformer even went as far as to post outright lies.

Amazons’ EU head thinks this. People at Platinum have noticed this. Indies have spoken their mind of these perceptions.

Do you know why Siliconera has those anti flame wars rules? To keep that crap OUT: And it was mostly centered around Nintendo.

Spirit Macardi

Hell, I still see The Escapist (who were formerly one of the best gaming sites out there) post outright lies about Nintendo as headlines. Like claiming that Watch Dogs for Wii U was cancelled without citing proof.

Seriously, it’s like the gaming media is run entirely by high-school students going “Hurr durr, Nintendo iz gay.”

otakumike

Not like it’s primarily centered around Nintendo. Look no further than the Vita for proof.Hell even Sony seems content to sell it as an accessory to ps4. The difference is that when a handheld fails it’s easy to just push it aside but console releases are bigger deals, especially in the eyes of the press. Plus the super sales success in the west of the ps4 and one (especially with the case of the one, which everyone seemed to perceive would do horribly) you can’t help but look at Nintendo and ask “what happened?” Nintendo’s responses don’t always instill confidence either…in the end, Nintendo tends to dig their own holes, which they wind up tripping into.

Oh and Pachter is the stupid. No one should take that guy seriously. Ever.

ronin4life

Unlike the Wii, 3ds and WiiU The Vita wasn’t full of negativity before, during or even after launch. Nowadays, there is still barely any real negativity towards it. Just ambivalence(which itslef is really bad admittedly). And this took as long to start as the 3ds negativity took to stop.

That isn’t to say it absolutely deserves the negativity it gets, or that it should get more. But that clearly built up over time. The WiiU was born into this atmosphere. It wasn’t even announced before everyone started acting this way about it in fact.

And it isn’t as though other companies haven’t dug holes, and sometimes the same holes, and fallen into them. And yet, you don’t hear cries for these companies to “Go 3rd party”, to fire big execs or to gut entire features, labled “Gimmicks” to make them more appealing.(Because what exactly are the touch pads on PS4/Vita, if the Gamepad and optional 3d are gimmicks?) You don’t have every net denizen fire off a lengthy business proposal, every news site post several editorials a month(More if news, ANY news comes out) and pretty much everyone spreading ridiculous fallacies, rumors and even intentional BS. And by “Everyone”, that includes media outlets.

And yes, Pachter is an idiot. People shouldn’t listen to him. But my point was, he has his own show. Any opinion he says is repeated through all the major and minor sites. And when it comes to Nintendo, a startling number of people agree with him. No matter how ridiculous what he says is, so long as it implies something negative about the company.

This isn’t recent activity and behavior. It has been building over nearly the last 2 decades. And people often can’t see it because they won’t believe something they are involved in would be so single minded in any kind of Bias, or that the scale people point out is just too ridiculously large to be believed. And yet, Gaming itself has been compressed into a common denominator of “CoD” likes. So how are opinions immune to the same effect?

Good thing they announced that “Treehouse Direct”, as they’re the team that handles localizations…

XYZ_JolteonZ980

Thats what treehouse is? Hopefully the localization includes some animu games then.

doubleO7

Licensed anime games? Has Nintendo EVER published any anime based games?

JuVu

Well, Inazuma Eleven games, at least.

doubleO7

Didn’t the games come first, though? If so, it doesn’t count.

Mugiwara

Yeah. Inazuma Eleven games come first. :D

Grape Monet

A few Hamtaro games for the Game Boy Color and Game Boy advance, a couple of Eyeshield 21 games (Japan Only), and Yume Kojo: Doki Doki Panic (the game that became Super Mario Bros. 2 outside of Japan), which was based on a Fuji TV license. Also Pokémon Puzzle League, which was technically based on the US dub of the Pokémon anime and was never released in Japan.

Mrgrgr and Unacceptable World

Layton?

doubleO7

No, the games came first. Anime film came later.

http://LevelUpGeneration.blogspot.com/ KALiverin

I’m not going to lie, I don’t exactly have a lot of confidence in Nintendo this year. I’m not terribly worried about them since I have my own priorities in life to worry about, but I just don’t see how they’re going to get out of this mess they made with the Wii U. I’m sure they’ll have a decent presentation, and if they keep surprising me like they did with Bayonetta 2 and SMTxFE, I’ll be happy, but I don’t see how they can drive that momentum that will get sales rolling at this point. It’s already been nearly a year and a half since release and it still doesn’t seem like an appealing product to most people.
Nonetheless, I’m going to do my best to be optimistic this year, not just for Nintendo, but for Sony and Microsoft as well. I’d rather get away from all of the console war and trolling nonsense that goes on every year.

nonscpo

Amen to that, the nonsense is ridiculous at times, and humorous.

XYZ_JolteonZ980

This is pretty worrying news as its highly unlikely a truly definitive and blockbuster game would make its debut on some prerecorded stream versus being on hand. What this strongly suggests and highly implies is that the next gen Zelda, or even the rumoured Super Mario Universe may not be in attendance. Unfortunately, this is yet again another questionable move being made by the Iwatar and Miyamotor duo. Perhaps the light in this dark tunnel is that it does mean we could finally see a Mario Strikers sequel or even a Golden Sun presence on the 3DS. Thus far, really the two things that could make Ninty relevant in this e3 season.

https://twitter.com/DocFishz Jack

There are strong indications that I am highly convinced and thoroughly persuaded by your extensive analysis that Nintendo is unavoidably doomed this E3. Only a blockbuster megaton exclusive like the infallible Mario Strikers could definitively save them now.

ronin4life

Uh… Most of WiiU’s heavy hitters were announced during directs.It implies none of these things.

XYZ_JolteonZ980

like what? Zelda Wii U concept and Smash Bros were initially brought to our attention during the Wii U unveiling at e3, wasnt X as well?

Tylor Boreas Makimoto

X came during the January 2013 presentation, along with SMT x Fire Emblem and a few others.

ronin4life

Like Tylor said. It has been their go-to for announcing games since then too. From tomadachi life to Pokemon. Bayonetta 2 included.

Solomon_Kano

lol

ShawnOtakuSomething

Kano…you just loled

Zero_Destiny

Tunafish is our favorite troll. :3

SaiyanJedi_Trunks

That Iwata/Miyamoto duo that did such a fantastic job with the release of Wii has faltered lately…not just with the Wii U and 3DS launches but even in game design. I still think there should be a Zelda reveal (wasn’t this already confirmed?)

I could see this working out really well for them, if they handle it right.

Make an announcement that goes out to all 3DS’s and WiiU’s telling people they can watch it live on their system or watch the VoD any time for the next month after it comes out. I’m sure there are plenty enough people that own those systems to get the word out about things.

Having a Smash tournament was actually a surprise, considering the creator of the game never wanted it to be a competitive one.

SaiyanJedi_Trunks

Nintendo certainly keeps making those mind boggling decisions. If they put as much effort into a strong message for the Wii U as they did in this little farce of a video maybe it might be progressing better. I personally hate their presentations, but they have to do what they think is working.

NeptuniasBeard

You are quite the negative Nancy for someone with a Haruhi icon.

ronin4life

…wait.
Are we talking about the same Haruhi??
O.o;;

SaiyanJedi_Trunks

Haruhi can be a little moody sometimes :)

http://twitter.com/crxuchilbara MegamMix

especially with an article like this ive heard

SaiyanJedi_Trunks

Negative Nancy? I haven’t heard that phrase in a while. At least you didn’t call me a Debbie Downer lol.

No, simply a Nintendo fan who is unhappy with Nintendo’s decisions as of late.

Spirit Macardi

Last year their live stream was far more exciting than the rest of E3 combined.

Seriously, E3 has had no real surprises these past few years. Just showing a bunch of stuff that people already knew existed; no big announcements or anything. I can see why Nintendo would want to distance themselves from that, since it just lacks the energy that it used to.

Also, how does a Reggie mech run out of power? You’d think it would be powered by Spiral Energy x3

stephane3012

Humm….Last e3 i was really interrested in the new consoles. I mean they were new consoles. I don’t know maybe console reveals aren’t interessing anymore to most people today.

Spirit Macardi

To each his own, but I don’t really get hyped for the next generation these days. The graphical improvements are imperceptible to me, and the consoles can’t even play games from the previous generation.

ronin4life

Not to mention even a decent PC will be able to play pretty much everything that will be released even after PS360 support has stopped…

stephane3012

Yeah i guess. I was really curious because it was my first gaming generation transition ever since i’m a “gamer”. I totally missed what nintendo was doing back then. Now the hype has faded and i still don’t have ps4.

Kaetsu

Games don’t even feel like a big leap any more(from a technical standpoint). SNES/Genseis to N64/PS1=HUGE! PS1/N64 to PS2/Gamecube=Pretty big and even PS2/Gamecube to PS3 seemed pretty big but games have got to a point where they’re just trying to look realistic which isn’t that impressive to me.

Michael Cortorreal

Thank you, my exact words…nowadays you got to play “find the 7 errors” in order to actually see any difference between one version or the other of the same game.
I saw the comparison on PS4, One and PC of FFXIV: ARR and i had to actually pause the video to see some differences.
Aside from better light effects, or that image was a little more “clear” it was the same to me.

PreyMantis

Leaks of game reveals also ruins the hype of those revealed games.

powerlessbump

After years of keeping up with E3 I can say it’s become a shell of what it used to be. Now it’s turned into another video game convention. While that isn’t bad it’s main point is now to make money, to bring in numbers, to sell ad space, to broadcast to viewers, and most importantly sell Doritos and Mountain Dew on Spike TV.

Anyone who cares watches the streams or catches them on youtube later anyway. It’s a good idea to make it available to everyone right from the get go.

Roberto

My body wasn’t ready

James Enk

i really like the video and their way of going with E3 this year. they are active and and aggressive and it shoes they have confidence… now if they actually have good reason behind their confidence, Nintendo is going to have an amazing E3

NintendoPSXTheSecond

I would more so say it’s not 100% confirmed they won’t have a stage presence.

NeptuniasBeard

In this age of gaming where people put way too much stock on graphics and resolution, it doesn’t surprise me that people will get pissy at Nintendo for avoiding the big, expensive stage in favor of a more modest presentation.
I gotta ask though, why does it matter? Those who like Nintendo are going to watch regardless, while those that dislike were going to skip it. I’m actually in favor of the direct presentation approach, it avoids all those awkward pausing for applause every time someone announces some pointless, non game related feature nobody asked for, and it gets to the damn point .
“Hi I am Satoru Iwata, thanks for watching this presentation. Here are some new features coming for the 3 DS, here are aome upcoming 3ds games. Here are some new features coming to WiiU. Here are some games for the Wii. Look at this Zelda trailer. Alright, that’s it, deuces” And that’s it. No people popping up telling corny jokes, no developers trying to hype with trailers that are all cutscenes, non of that (Okay, there will be some of that). It will just be nice and concise.

nonscpo

Your right “Those who like Nintendo are going to watch regardless”, however how many of those Nintendo fans are actually going to buy their products? we know the fan-base is there with the 3DS as its doing well but are all of those same people currently supporting the Wii U? Kart8 will bring some back but I suspect that It wont bring them all back and that’s why they needed a big show this year to really give everyone a reason to come back.

http://gentlerobot.com/ Gentle Robot

As much as the game blogs try to make it the olympics of video games, most people who play video games have no idea it’s going on.

http://twitter.com/crxuchilbara MegamMix

Im not a gaming blog, but you have to admit, The “Wheres Versus” weely rants have declined since last years e3

NeptuniasBeard

But that’s just it. Why would a huge show have any bigger of an impact? How does that even make sense?
I at least, never thought during the Nintendo direct last year”Well, Iwata, this is all… well and good, but I think I would have liked that Smash Bros reveal even more if you had showed it while standing on an actual stage. Think I might skip it”

The only major loss is that if by some miracle Nintendo had a new third party exclusive, the third party rep PROBABLY wouldn’t be able to talk about the game on Nintendos presentation. But even then, not that big a loss, Nintendo would already have the game, and if they had faith in it, would talk about it themselves, and STILL save a pretty penny

http://twitter.com/crxuchilbara MegamMix

“But that’s just it. Why would a huge show have any bigger of an impact? How does that even make sense? ”

You serious?
That’s like saying speaking to 20 people get the same results as talking to 200.

Its all about the Venue baby! the bodys that… were ready. Good ol Iwatttta seeing his fans faces light up when mario says itsame! for the billionth time

SaiyanJedi_Trunks

Nintendo used to be excellent at these presentations; creating a proper buzz for the fans and media while also giving proper exposure. I never see their presentations as concise…more annoying in their speeches (either we have Iwata attempting to give us some semblance of cohesive English or someone giving a plastic presentation or speaking to viewers like they are children).

I love Nintendo and probably see myself as more of a fan to them then to any other gaming company. However, they just have not done smart decisions lately…from the 3DS launch to the eventual handing of the Wii and now the Wii U. Their biggest problem is communication and the message…they seem sometimes baffled or completely out of touch. It is my take on it, but I believe that their marketing especially can be handled so much better.

ronin4life

I don’t know… people seem to love these little videos like this that they have been doing for at least the last year.(The Campy stuff, Not NDin general, which have also been good for them)

And when Commercials started rolling, I felt people seemed to think they were the right start.

None of it has seemed to matter in the market past initial praise though. People are seeing these Directs and enjoying them, and getting the info, but that doesn’t seem to change the overall level of awareness/image at all. Is there really much more they could do?

CozyAndWarm

I don’t want nice and concise. I want more giant enemy crabs, Tak Fuji, “my body is ready” quotes, good job Jeremy, time-traveling Ubisoft guy, insane Wii Music drum set guy, etc. I like seeing these people flounder around on stage, that’s what I most regret about Nintendo cancelling their stage shows.

… In retrospect, having one less company full of things to laugh at live is something of a missed opportunity. We will continue to get “My Body is Ready” in the future though, it was nodded to when Wii Fit U was announced.

For good or ill, the E3 has become a grandiose spectacle. And whoever makes the better spectacle, “wins” the E3.

A video is pretty much Nintendo saying that they don’t want to make any spectacles, for whatever reason. That equals to giving up on winning the E3.

Shallow, stupid, childish and something that brings the worst part of gamers, even many of the smart ones?

F****, yes!

But that’s what most people want the E3 to be.

ronin4life

Except even when they have “won”, people say they have lost.

Remember that killer games-only Wii super spectacular? That was disputed by many a Sony win. As is every year.

http://twitter.com/crxuchilbara MegamMix

who cares about winning. Havent the games being featured on siliconera taught you to try? No matter how hard you fall flat onto your tablet controller?

Kornelious

Haha! I loved it when they started playing Ghirahim’s theme XD

Spirit Macardi

I feel like a better theme tune for a Reggie mech would be Sorairo Days x3

Eder García

no E3 conference… because what’s the point on having a conference with fake hype, useless celebrity appearances, pre-recorded gameplay, etc, etc, etc, sports and COD?

Chris Evan Jonance Ingeniero

add to that alot of fake presentation using the PC that is being presented as a “Console” game

DesmaX

Oh wow, everyone hates E3 conferences now.

Oh well, Nintendo ones were always pretty boring (I remember the last time they did a conference…), so this is for the best; their Nintendo Directs are more interessing

NeptuniasBeard

I don’t think anyone “hates” the conferences. Just that, it’s not that big a deal. Gamers still get their info

http://twitter.com/crxuchilbara MegamMix

what about non gamers? the ones that see and go to E3 and let the companies know there thoughts by having direct contact?

SaiyanJedi_Trunks

That’s a funny statement and an accurate one. All of a sudden, people hate the conferences or ask “well why do we need to have a conference to show us games.” It was the experience…the Sony one certainly made a huge impact last year. I hope Nintendo’s is a good presentation though.

NeptuniasBeard

Sony’s E3 last year is probably a once in a lifetime thing though. In hindsight, all it really consisted of was them saying ” You now have to pay to have online, but at least we aren’t gonna screw with you as hard as Microsoft did”. In the words of Chris Rock: “What do you want, a cookie?”

Sony took the opportunity to position itself properly with the launch of a new generation of gaming systems. The official first reveal coupled with E3 gave them a platform to showcase games and create the proper buzz both with the media and gamers. Nintendo has not done well with these opportunities. I think this year at E3…both MS and Sony will pull out the proper stops in their presentations. Marketing is a key and unfortunately, Nintendo is terrible at it.

NeptuniasBeard

Oh yes, pop culture references are the crutch of my material. Stick around and you will see! ^_^

All I’m saying is that Sony made such an impact only because Microsoft exposed their softest spot in front of the world. Kudos to them, but they didn’t do it alone.

And I’ll just circle back to my first point. In today’s world and with how fast information travels, it doesn’t really matter where Nintendo has it’s presentation or how much money they spend. Personally, I think it’s too soon in the race to say that advertising is having any real affect on console sales. Remember, Wii sold a crapload because it was something completely different, a fad, if you will PS2 got a good boost as a cheap DVD player, PS3 also got a little similar boost. PS4 sales are good, and XB1 is probably decent, but how many of these are new adaptors? In the end, they are mostly sequel systems, the same as their predoccessors, but better. We won’t know until we can compare end of life sales, if all these commercials and big presentations are even really worth it.

Kaetsu

Nintendo has had some great conference moments however their last few ones weren’t very good. Nintendo Direct actually gets me way more hyped then a conference. In my opinion Nintendo stole E3 last year and they’ll probably do it again.

otakumike

I still like watching them, all hype in the air adds to the fun.

http://twitter.com/puchixseda puchinri

That sounds like a plan to me~! I rather like that idea, and I really look forward to playing the games at Best Buy. ♥

Kaetsu

Last years Best Buy event was great! I’d imagine this year will be just as good if not better :)

http://twitter.com/puchixseda puchinri

Agreed~! It was a lot of fun just being there (and the streetpasses!), my only quibble is that I never got to try MK8~.

J_Joestar

Being able to see their presentation unfiltered by media journalists and also playing games in person at best buy beats sitting around waiting for game sites to update their E3 coverage.

I wonder how complete the roster will be for the Smash4 they distribute for the tournaments?

Forty

Part of the fun for me as a viewer from home for E3 each year is hearing the reactions of the audience and knowing they’re just as excited as me, it’s a very inclusive experience, and makes it a lot more fun in general. Seeing Kingdom Hearts 3 announced live and the audience going crazy, seeing Watch_Dogs revealed and everyone being impressed and cheering, and seeing Nintendo reveal that free Four Swords DSiWare game would be given to everyone were all great moments I still remember clearly. Meanwhile, had last years Nintendo Direct for E3 not had a Smash Bros trailer, I don’t think I’d remember anything specific about it.

Nintendo can do what they want when revealing their games, at the end of the day, all I care about is seeing what is announced and eventually playing it. So I’m not faulting them specifically for it. But I do find the inane associations people are now making to be ridiculous. Live shows don’t need to be expensive, don’t need to have celebrity appearances, and they certainly aren’t inherently associated with “Dew and Doritos”, bad journalism or some other nonsense. Simply standing on a stage live has nothing do with those things. I can’t see the people making these associations as anything other than people trying to disassociate themselves with some aspect of the industry they have some meaningless hate towards.

Guest

Then watch the Nintendo’s Digital Event with friends, enjoy and go crazy together, and suddenly the experience you describe is complete.

Forty

You seem to have missed the point. At the end of the day, Nintendo is delivering what I want, I’m not saying this or the live events are better or worse or that I want a specific experience.

The point was more that this action by Nintendo, and many others, are almost always met with meaningless backhanded statements and generalizations of the rest of the industry in an attempt to make Nintendo look better.

I’m just getting a little tired of Nintendo announcement discussion being about how much worse the rest of the industry supposedly is (with “media pandering”, “expensive presentations” and “fake hype”) instead of about Nintendo itself.

Guest

Fair enough, but can you blame people for having this perception/discussion? This type of news is met with reactions from the gaming media on how suddenly press conferences are crucial and the only and legitimate way to reach consumers, just like last year.

A quote from a Game Informer piece linked here by otakumike: “This morning, Nintendo announced its plans for E3 2014. Like last year, the company has decided not to hold a press conference. (…) Instead of going back to a tried and true format”, and that’s besides the comparisons to previous years Sony and Microsoft conferences.

I doubt the talk about the rest of the industry was started just because, but it’s reactionary on sites due bare headlines like “No Live Press Conference For Nintendo at E3 Again”, ignoring every other relevant piece of news. Of course you are going to find a cuota of hypothesis, assumptions and even hyperbole thrown in among comments, but it’s only natural after this weird coverage.

Forty

The thing is that this discussion of actual bad journalism like that is often accompanied by vitriol and generalizations of things that have nothing to do with it, including implications or even outright claims that Sony and Microsoft are at fault for these kinds of things, when they’ve done nothing more than go to E3 and have their usual live show, or that anyone not doing what Nintendo is doing is bad.

Don’t get me wrong, I do agree that video game journalism is full of idiots. Clickbaiting articles like that one are pure crap. But I’d still rather discussion of Nintendo’s announcement be about the announcements, not about bringing up clickbaiting journalists as if that discussion hasn’t been had to death.

I suppose I’m doing exactly what I’m complaining about by talking about the fact people talk about this instead though.

http://twitter.com/crxuchilbara MegamMix

I think he is trying to tell you “no” David.

His [post] = [Your Solution] multiplied by [any number over 10 billion].

When FFXV came on the screen people were complete silent until the explosion at the end. Seconds later, Roaring thunderclash of applause and claps. Kh3 was just the icing on the cake. Sony killed it last year. Even tho both titles will be available for xbox and possibly pc

Guest

?
I don’t see how your comment is relevant to the discussion Forty and I had a fortnight ago.

http://twitter.com/crxuchilbara MegamMix

Well…

He said that he is excited from the Excitement of E3. You implied that that same excitement could be achieved via a room full of friends and nintendo Direct. So I meant to convey: For him E3 and all thats included > a room full of friends + Nintendo Direct. I’m just going to assume that for you: Nintendo Direct + Room full of friends > E3 and all that goes a long with it.

I’d love to watch Nintendo Direct in my room with friends, but if I could take my friends with me for an E3 + Nintendo Event… Hands down no competition. E3 is just a gaming event no need for politics to discredit or patronize it.

Guest

No, at the end my first reply was missing the main point Forty was making; I addressed that in my second comment on this thread.

http://twitter.com/crxuchilbara MegamMix

Not quite… but ok.

Maybe i’ll watch a video of a petting zoo while letting NY rat pigeons fly around the house to get the atmosphere of going.

You should go sometime. You might enjoy yourself?

Guest

The thing is, I can’t go to E3, just like any other people not industry insiders or journalists; I’ll be watching a video stream, with conference or not.

http://twitter.com/crxuchilbara MegamMix

Right now I work for Samsung. Last year I had no business near the gaming stuff. I only started going when a 3rd party rep told me I could get passes because of my work. I had been working for this company since before 2005! And now he tells me >_<

In comparison to TGS tho, You're points make a lot more sense. When strapped financially I would rather go to TGS on a public day rather than E3.

CozyAndWarm

Conflicted on this. E3 is just media-pandering usually only for the biggest-budget cinematic western games anyway, but it’s still a huge marketing opportunity Nintendo is missing out on. Mostly I’m just jealous I can’t go, last year everyone who actually went to Nintendo’s show seemed to have a lot of fun actually playing games.

British_Otaku

In practice, the only difference between holding a press conference and not holding on is whether they can avoid giving embarrassing live performances which could undermine the games (not sure how good Panzer Dragoon was, but it could have done with better than a mute trailer – Killer Instinct was pretty good too given how people talked more about rape than the game’s mechanics or quality from E3 2013).

Nintendo will still get dozens of big websites to mention their projects and have something big for us to watch.

http://twitter.com/crxuchilbara MegamMix

Thats not always true. If you watch it, of course. Thats just how money+Ad space works. But if you go… well thats another story. Its more similar to TGS with booths on the floor. Interactive kiosks. Last year we got to play and FF XIV summon battle and even got free bags. If you get bored of gaming, you can go look at some apple or samsung products or go outside and melt like ice cream in the LA sun :)

We can complain all we want on here but the crowds speak volumes. especially from the freeways lol.

You can’t be bitter about something like E3. Some of your siliconera community im sure enjoy this website as well as E3.

Kaetsu

Reggie-Fils-A-Mech? There is no way I can get mad at Nintendo for not having a conference any more.

TalesOfBS

This should be a EShop game.

Zer0faith

Can’t wait until then.

Tom

It’s super cheesy but I really like it :)

HerosLight

They did it last year, and it was fine besides the intense lag and freezing livestreams.

Ercoman

That’s lame as hell. We learned from Sony’s conference last year just how much impact a traditional press conference can have. Nintendo just comes off as pathetic by doing this.

Kaetsu

Nintendo got me hyped way more then Sony did at E3 last year. Sony’s conference was good but the Nintendo Direct was way more exciting and didn’t have any filler. Don’t ever count Nintendo out.

CozyAndWarm

Maybe for the minority of gamers like us, but based on the millions of people who bought a PS4 around launch (many for seemingly no reason), that E3 presentation definitely had an impact. These giant E3 conferences have colossal market penetration that Nintendo Directs, which are just preaching to the already converted, don’t. Regardless of the games, I feel like there’s no denying this.

http://gentlerobot.com/ Gentle Robot

The whole thing was terrifying. People chanting “Sony”?! I’m sure if that blond guy from the ads commanded, the E3 fanboys would have rioted and wrecked the place in the solemn name of optical media. Thank god he just wanted their money.

http://twitter.com/crxuchilbara MegamMix

Yeah that e3 is pretty much historical evidence of what works at that level.

Ps4 kept it on gaming, Microsoft on function, and Nintendo on Fans. Fans don’t sell. Selling a gaming system as a gaming system apparently sells. Heck, even being spied on by the US govt while playing any kinect game was more appealing than a WiiU to those buyers.

But Nintendo’s approach pleases there fan base. I have no right to fault them for not doing what I like… because they are staying true to the fans. They are not making games for me and telling me not to expect them to.

Every company has to be commended for the approaches they took. Sony less so due to the fact they have a tradition of making the same system over again. So we expected a gaming focus. Microsoft tried to capitalize on the American = Functionality approach… it seems lol. Apparently most Americans don’t believe in buying a product unless they know exactly what they are going to do with it. I don’t want to offend people or put any stereotypes out there but all of the world does not purchase with that sole purpose in mind.

Nintendo is continuing to capitalize on the fan base. That Fan Base is, I’m guessing, not able to burden Nintendo’s financial costs effectively if they want to stay competitive.

http://www.segalization.com/ Kuronoa

I remember Nintendo caused an impact just announcing Cranky Kong at a terrible award show. It is incredible how much people want to talk about Nintendo positively or negatively on the internet.

Lacking a conference aside, E3 news for them will still spread. We will just miss crowd reactions and embarrassing stage moments.

Kaetsu

Iwata could always screw up during the Direct since it’s still live and I’ll probably be just loud as an audience once Nintendo reveals some insane stuff.

http://twitter.com/crxuchilbara MegamMix

Exactomundo!

There were plenty of Nintendo Patrons last year. Cheery as usual lol

Herok♞

That only was because they had a brand new system to show off, no other reason

Guest

I’d say Microsoft’s conference (the reveal one) had a bigger impact on Sony’s strategy than their own.

Aspenharls

Sony’s press conference was literally one slam on Microsoft after another+ Versus XIII being rebranded, and KHIII officially announced; neither being console exclusives.

Arrngrim

And Sony did what needed to be done, nobody wanted Microsoft’s draconic war moves towards dominating the “home entertainment” market.

J_Joestar

As if people wouldn’t have rallied against M$ anyways if Sony didn’t call them out on their garbage?

http://twitter.com/crxuchilbara MegamMix

Yeah MS really dropped the ball on that one. Of course they can say they did better than Nintendoo at E3 that year. But that aint sayin’ much since Nintendo did the same thing they are doing now.

http://www.destructoid.com/blogs/mgbenz mgbenz

Why did this comment get this much votes?

M’iau M’iaut

Our Sony luv bot resurfaces.

http://twitter.com/crxuchilbara MegamMix

SO now we have bots on here too? Is this serious or just a joke? I was really starting to like it here too (sort of)

zeta

sony bots as usual

Arrngrim

Nintendo has been long-dead to me since the around the time of the Gamecube, I ONLY have a 3DS for a select few games which were exclusive. I own more PS Vita games (and yes there are quite a few good PS Vita games :P) RIP Nintendo, keep milking that casual crowd.

MagicMushroom

Then why did you comment on the article? They must be zombies then. lol

DanielGearSolid

Dang

Rami

I love Nintendo Direct~ Sooo much quicker getting information that way. I hope they announce a U.S. release of Fantasy Life. Been dying to play that game. Also more Wii U games would be nice.

An excellent opinion piece that expresses all my concerns about this very well.

ronin4life

This conference is targeting the same people an E3 presser would have + more. How exactly are people being kept from knowing/watching/being targeted just because of the format?

Perhaps aside from the media… Gi included. The same Gi that ran outright lies/misinformation about WiiU that shouldn’t have made it past any decent editor.

Göran Isacson

Out of curiosity, what were those lies/misinformation? Was it that article from the developer who said that Nintendo didn’t even look at the other companies online-solutions, because that’s the one thing I can think of that I connect to Gameinformer and the WiiU.

ronin4life

GI ran an article, and it may well be the one you mention, and in the article claimed WiiU sill relied on the much reviled Friend Code System. Which was never in place on WiiU.

It was a simple thing to know. If you have a WiiU, you WOULD know. And yet, they reported otherwise. To me, it wouldn’t matter if it was intentional, as it shows a severe lacking in basic knowledge and editing either way. It was wholly unprofessional.

There was also another instance were a Nintendo game was given a poor score(M&L Dream team I believe)… in order to reflect not what the writer/reviewer thought, but what HE thought the READERS would think/want to hear. Showing even Gi must think there are certain specific ways of thinking among the “Core” market of the industry.

Well, like I said. He scored it based off perceived Reader reaction(How he felt his readers would have scored it IIRC) to the game rather than His own thoughts, which would have made up the written part of the review. And I wouldn’t be surprised if they changed the score after the controversy.

And of course, I could have the wrong one. Might have been Paper Mario 3ds.

Göran Isacson

Oh yes, I googled that and THAT turned up a fair few critical arguments. Apparently they apologized, but yeah, can’t say a review like that imbues one with much faith.

hazelnut1112

Nintendo must be planning on big things if they make announcements like this. I seriously can’t wait.

https://twitter.com/BinksFrost Binks5

oh the best buy tournament sounds neat!

http://twitter.com/crxuchilbara MegamMix

Hmmm… Nintendo capatalizing on best buy tie ins? where have I heard that before…

Audie Bakerson

E3 has been nothing but a massive circle jerk that has no relevance in the days of broadband for a decade. I’m glad Nintendo has stopped doing the press conferences where half the damn event isn’t spent on video games.

Kaetsu

All E3 conferences are full of filler. With Nintendo Direct they can focus on the games and only the games.

Chris Evan Jonance Ingeniero

add to the fact that all of us who cant go abroad will get to experience the same information as everyone on the net

http://twitter.com/crxuchilbara MegamMix

Although not primarily for games, that comment is soooo false. E3 is restricted for reasons, but not for circle jerking, I assure you.

Göran Isacson

Ha ha, I laughed. Looks like Nintendo keeps up their current strategy of doing their own thing instead of trying to match the others in spectacle and flair, making things smaller, more directly aimed at the gamers… it’s an interesting strategy, but I wonder hwo much hype it really builds. Sony got a huge hype boost from all the shots they took at a floundering MS, and MS press conferences were… well. The less said the betters. It’s kind of hilarious really how both big companies were like polar opposites last year around: MS is like the best argument FOR Nintendo’s current strategy, while Sony is the best argument against it. One shall simply have to wait and see how this year turns out…

Kaetsu

E3 hype really doesn’t matter for Nintendo. The average/casual gamer doesn’t pay attention to E3 so they’ll just buy whatever new Nintendo game they see that interests them and as for the “hardcore” gamers that actually pay attention to E3, will either read about Nintendo’s announcements or actually watch the Nintendo Direct. Honestly it’s really smart on Nintendo’s part. Save money from not having a conference and then rent out a large booth space and hold events like the Best Buy thing.

Kumomeme

i think it quite clever from nintendo..instead they going face to face with 2 big ‘giant’ competitor they choose to avoid direct clash with them…there might be more negative than positive outcome if they perform the E3 conference..by looking at they current status,such as numbers of games their own, surely i think they just need more than one ‘outstanding’ title if they thinking to stand side by side with sony and microsoft..both them will showed their numerous number of AAA title for sure..and if nintendo still goes in,it will be 3 ways war,which is more risky if they fail to gain attention…by the way E3 is not everything…sure the conference is huge advertising,but still they a lot of event in upcoming years which is still live to the hype..might be they had another plan to steal the spotlight maybe?
nintendo E3 site just had launched,and people spotted ‘new nintendo system’ in the source code,and rumors pokemon fighting game crossover with tekken and open world 3rd person pokemon rpg are incoming…still hope the best for nintendo

ShilaquilOneal

Look at you Goran.

The bots sure loved your comment.

Göran Isacson

Holy hell they certainly did. Strange- the only other comment with botlikes is one that’s heavily critical of Nintendo. I wonder why they’re so loveydovey with mine comment…

ShilaquilOneal

I wonder if the the guy using the bots tried to “balance” it all out by supporting two opposing views.

Either way, bots were used. What a shame.

Göran Isacson

Ha ha, I think this is the first time I’ve ever entertained the notion of bot-users wanting to be “fair and balanced”. Perhaps they’re learning… evolving. The next generation of bots!

CozyAndWarm

Also, where the heck has marketing like this been for the Wii U? This was a genuinely enjoyable little commercial thing. Did Nintendo’s marketing people make it? Why hasn’t stuff like this been thrown around to advertise the Wii U, which needs marketing more than ever, instead of that god-awful HOT BUTTERED POPCORN commercial?

Kaetsu

NOA has had some great advertisements on youtube lately like the Tomodachi Collection Nintendo Direct. The problem is that a commercial with Reggie Fils-A-Mech busting through a house and giving a family a Wii U won’t appeal to a regular person because the average consumer doesn’t know about Reggie. It’s great for us “hardcore” Nintendo fans who love Reggie and all of Nintendo’s memes but regular people won’t get it.

Heropon

We need release date for X and more RPG title for Wii U and 3DS

Kaetsu

You know what we need more than a release date for X? A name.

http://s1.zetaboards.com/Espada_of_Alexandria/index/ konpon568

But X is a name. Or are you one of those people who are against One-letter Names?

pokeroi

I think it’s only a code name. But I will be glad if it’s the real name.

Akemi Homura

I’ll accept that X is its name when Nintendo stops calling it “New Monolith Soft Game”, and starts calling it “X”.

J_Joestar

That reminds me, wasn’t Monolith also supposed to have been recruiting for a 3DS game a while back? it would be nice to hear something about it this year.

Somehow… i want this announcement be featured in FineBros’ Kids React To. ._.

Anthony Hadow

For a company complaining about loss of funds they sure aren’t trying to promote themselves.

PreyMantis

How? By providing the information directly without all those boring PR bullshit no one wants just to extend the time, having their game reveals leaked before announcement, and feel the embarrassment when things don’t work out as planned? How are they dying?

Forty

Nintendo Directs have no less “PR bullshit” than any potential live event would.

Also, I think he was being facetious.

http://twitter.com/crxuchilbara MegamMix

What PRs are you talking about EXACTLY? I remember watching the comapny channels and sony’s was uninterrupted by ads.